Improvement in car-couplings



2Sheets--Sheet1. I. D. GARDNER.

Car-Couplings.

Patented April 7, 1874.

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ATTORNEYS.

. ZS he ets She'eiZ. -J. D. GARDNER.

Gar-Couplings.

-No.l49,462.v PatentedApri'l7,1874.

WITNESSES INVENTOR 56%gm" ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT CFFIGE.

JACOB D. GARDNER, OF NASHPORT, OHIO. v

IMPROVEMENT lN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,462, dated April 7,1874; application filed February 28, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB D. GARDNER, of Nashport, in the county ofMuskingum and State of Ohio, have invented a new and valuableImprovement in Gar-Couplers and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the construction andoperation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawingsmaking a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawing is a representation of a plan view of mycar-coupler. Fig. 2 is a sectional view, and Figs. 3, 4, and 5, detailviews, of the same. Fig. 6 is a sectional, and Fig. 7 an end, View.

This invention has relation to railroad-car couplers of theself-coupling kind; and it consists in a hooked and recessed draw-bar, ahooking-arm, which is pivoted to the draw-bar and held down in place bya spring, a cam-lever for lifting the hooking-arm, and a rocking tongue,which will guide the head of the coupling-link out of the draw-bar whenthe hooking-lever is raised, as will be hereinafter explained.

In the annexed drawings, A designates a draw-bar having a flaring mouth,on the inner sides of thescheeks of which are formed inclined shouldersto a. The rear upper ends of the shoulders at a terminate inbackwardlydirected hooks b b, in rear of which recesses are made, inwhich the head of a couplinglink, L, plays. 0 designates an arm, whichis fitted into the upper side of the draw-bar A, and constructed withhooks h at the rear termination of its under-beveled end, which hooksare directed backward and have a channel between them for receiving theshank of the coupling-link. The arm 0 is pivoted to the draw-bar at p,so that its front end, which is held down by a spring, S, and a rod, 1",is allowed vertical movement for coupling and uncoupling. D represents acamlever, which is pivoted at c in a slot made vertically through thearm 0, in rear of the hook h. The upper end of this lever will, in

practice, have a chain attached to it, which will pass up through theplatform of a car, and be secured to some object where it-will beconvenient for use, or, in case of freightcars, the chain will becarried to the top of the car. The lower cam-shaped end of the lever Dpasses through a slot made through a tongue, t, and bears upon thebottom of the recess in draw-bar A, in which the arm 0 is fitted. Byraising the longer arm of lever D, the hooked end of the arm 0 can belifted high enough to release the coupling-link L. Beneath the hookedarm G is applied the slotted tongue 25, above referred to, the frontportion of which tongue extends nearly to the hooks I) b. The rear endof this tongue t is turned upward at an obtuse angle, so that when thearm 0 is raised, its rear beveled end will raise the front portion ofthe tongue t to' the position shown by Fig. 6.

The links are constructed with fiat heads I on each end, as shown byFigs. 3 and 4, or when cars having my couplings on them are to beconnected to cars provided with the wellknown draw-heads and pins, I uselinks having a flat coupling-head, Z, on one end, and an eye, 02,through the other end, as shown in Fig. 5.

When two cars are moved together, the flat head 1 of the coupling-linkwill ride up the inclined shoulders at a, press up the hooked end of thearm 0, and drop into the recess behind the hooks b h, as shown in Fig.2. In this position of the parts the head llies on the tongue t andbeneath a spring, 8, which is secured to the arm 0 back of the hook h.

WVhen the lever l) is drawn up, the tongue t, following it, will liftthe head of the link in line with the highest ends of the shoulders ora, and allow the head I to be drawn out of the mouth of bar A.

The small spring 8 is intended to force the coupling-head free of thehooks h when the arm 0 is raised.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A draw-bar, A, hooked at b, and shouldered at a a, in combinationwith the hooks h on the beveled end of pivoted arm 0, the lever D, andlifting-tongue t, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The spring S and its rod 4", combined with the hooked arm 0, tonguet, and the hooked draw-bar A, substantially as described.

3. The spring S, combined with the hooked arm 0, tongue t, and hookeddraw-bar A, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

JACOB D. GARDNER.

Witnesses:

D. M. THOMPSON, THOS. GARDNER.

